Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Plainfield's North Avenue Historic District was
chock-a-block with activity on Monday as a shiny aluminum over-the-road
trash trailer was pulled up in front of the rubble from the March demolition.

Elsewhere, cars and a delivery truck were illegally parked on the 'no
parking' side of the street and a NJ Transit bus had pulled over where
the street widens near the train station to jump out and pick up a carry-out lunch from one of the restaurants lining the block.

Bricks and debris were gobbled up in the maw of a large scoop and dumped
into the waiting trailer. Yanuzzi crewmen were everywhere, guiding traffick, climbing the rubble heap and watching over the dumping of debris.

By 3:30 PM, the crew quit for the day, the trailer was hauled away and passersby vould see that a sizable dent had been made in the pile of rubble.

A young man who works in one of the building housing the damaged Mi
Buenaventura restaurant and several other shops told me that the owner
of that building was planning to raze the entire structure.

This will mean displacing several small businesses that have been there
for years, and present land use officials with a new task: how to ensure
the new structures that are sure to rise will fit in with the city's
only Victorian commercial historic district.

Monday, June 29, 2015

Could Plainfield's Muhlenberg Hospital property be
affected by the tax ruling on Morristown Hospital that came down on
Friday?

Hospitals and communities across New Jersey have been watching with great
interest the suit by Morristown against its longtime non-profit
hospital (the largest in the Atlantic Health System), alleging that the
hospital does not meet the criteria of a non-profit hospital and owes
the municipality property taxes for several years. Morristown did not
dispute the hospital's IRS 501(c)(3) status.

Hospital official say the decision could cost it $2.5 to $3 million per
year. You can read details of the case in the NJ Spotlight story (here) and the Ledger (here).

New Jersey Tax Court Judge Vito Bianco ruled the hospital failed to meet the legal test for operating as a charitable non-profit.

Among the issues Biano raised are --

The hospital appears 'functionally similar' to for-profit hospitals, with both non-profit and for-profit subsidiaries intertwined;

The hospital failed to show where its non-profit activity ends and its for-profit relations with physician groups begins;

Private physicians and medical practices both earn and retain income on the hospital's property;

The hospital had 'intermingled' interests with other for-profit operations.

Plainfield has pressedn JFK in the past about its non-profit status.

Since JFK's predecessor, Solaris, closed Muhlenberg in 2008, the main
building was stripped of its equipment and converted primarily into
records storage. Although outpatient imaging is done on the premises, it
is not clear if this is private, for-profit medical practice using the Muhlenberg facility.

Complicating matters even more for JFK are the subdivisions of its
property that it sought and won. The Snyder School of Nursing is now a
standalone property, and activity there cannot count toward the main
campus use.

The same goes for the former Kenyon House, which houses the DaVita unit
and is the site of the to-be-built new Satellite Emergency Department
(SED).

It may be that the Morristown case fits Muhlenberg less than it does JFK
proper, since the primary issue in Plainfield is the abandonment of
provision of hospital services, not the blending of non-profit and for-profit activities.

At any rate, it must be an anxious time for JFK's board of directors.

And perhaps an opportune moment for Plainfield to apply a little squeeze.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Word comes that the Plainfield Education Association (PEA), which represents the school district's teachers and support staff, has finally reached a contract settlement.

The local has been working without a contract since the previous
agreement expired in the 2012-13 school year. I am told the agreement
sets 2% increases for each of the four years it covers. As I see it,
this means that the union will need to go back into negotiations next year for a new contract period.

Meanwhile, the PEA, which is the local affiliate of the New Jersey
Education Association (NJE) is said to have received a stern warning in
April from the state organization that the local was out of compliance
with the NJEA's rules concerning affiliation. Evidently, there were
complaints over the failure of the PEA local to properly elect
representatives to the higher levels of the union organization.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

There will be an artist's reception for the
photography exhibit of Plainfield resident Richard Lear at the
Plainfield Public Library today (June 27) from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM.

Lear is a noted nature photographer and an exhibit of his work is
mounted in the library's Anne Louise Davis Gallery, where it will be on
view through August.

Richard and his partner, Carlos Ponton, are active in the Van Wyck
Brooks Historic District and recently showed off the garden of their
Madison Avenue Spanish Revival home as part of the libnrary's Garden Tour fundraiswer.

The Plainfield Public Library is at Park Avenue and West 8th Street and
is an accessible facility. Parking is available in the 8th and 9th
Street lots. For more information about library hours and programs,
visit the library's website at plainfieldlibrary.info/.

Friday, June 26, 2015

With Councilors Vera Greaves, Gloria Taylor and Tracey Brown absent, Plainfield's City Council
special meeting on the Bilingual Day Care Center (BDCC) situation got
under way at 7:11 PM on Thursday in a crowded City Hall Library.

While the topic of having a nonprofit entity take over the operation of
the BDCC has been discussed for years, the Mapp administration made the
move as the retirement of founding director Eva Rosas-Amrault looms.

in his remarks last evening, Mayor Mapp noted that the situation was
painful, had been studied for a long time and was being driven at this
time partly by Rosas-Amirault's upcoming retirmenet (meaning staff
changes would be on the horizon). He also moted that seventy percent of
the public schools' enrollment is now Latino.

City Administrator Rick Smiley also noted that the HOPES organization
would offer more services to both the children and their families than
is the case with the BDCC currently.

Council President Bridget Rivers graciously president over the public comment, but was firm about the time limits.

Several people spoke against the transition, as though it meant the end of the BDCC -- even though the Mapp administration had taken pains to point out that would not be the case.

Resident Alan Goldstein spoke in favor of the transition, citing his
experience on the Citizens Budget Advisory Committee years prior, when
the matter had been the subject of discussion and a recommendation to
the Council.

Resident Dottie Gutenkauf attempted to get into a back-and-forth with
Council President Rivers, who stuck to her guns. In the end, Gutenkauf
asked her questions and the administration gave its answers, without any back-and-forth.

Councilor Storch, elected chair of the committee of the whole in the
absence of Councilor Brown, finally offered the two resolutions --

To enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with HOPES to mange the transition process; and

To
submit a layoff plan to the state (employees will be given 45-day
notice after the state's approval, usualy within 30 days of submission
of a plan).

Thursday, June 25, 2015

A special City Council meeting on Plainfield's Bilingual
Day care has been called by Mayor Mapp for 7:00 PM tonight at City Hall Library.

Though I previously noted the meeting (see here),
the Clerk's office issued a revised meeting notice that added one more
item -- a resolution entering into a Memorandum of Agreement with HOPES
to transition the Bilingual Day Care program to an independent entity. Plainfield Today previously took a look at the issues and the players (see here) involved in this gnarly situation .

If the Council shows up and if positive action is taken on the three agenda items, a layoff plan will be filed with the state and the transition process will begin.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Longtime community activist Flor Gonzalez is this year's Grand Marshal.

Plainfield's 92nd annual Central Jersey July 4 Parade
steps off on Saturday morning July 4 at 10 AM and proceeds down East
Front Street from Johnston Avenue to Park Avenue.

Mayor Adrian O. Mapp has designated Flor Gonzalez as the Grand Marshal of this year's parade.

Gonzalez, founder and president of the Latin American Coalition, has
been active in providing services and assistance to Plainfield's
immigrant community for over thirty years, including citizenship classes for hundreds of successful applicants.

The Latin American Coalition has also organized Plainfield's first celebrations of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Gonzalez has been active in many community organizations, including
serving as a commissioner on the Housing Authority of Plainfield. She is
currently chairperson of the Plainfield Advisory Commission on Hispanic
Affairs (PACHA) and served on Mayor Mapp's Transition Task Force.

After years of delayed starts under the previous administration, Mayor
Mapp's first parade in 2014 stepped off on time, to the delight of the
crowd.

A free concert for the public will be offered at 5:00 PM in Cedar Brook
Park. This year's lineup includes Tito Puente, Jr., with a Latin Jazz
band, Blue Magic, and vocalist Viola Sykes. Host of the show will be
Kenny Williams, with DJ Antione Qua.

Plainfield's celebration of the nation's Independence Day will conclude at dusk with fireworks, also at Cedar Brook Park. These get under way about 9:25 PM.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Exercising his authority under
Plainfield's special charter, Mayor Adrian O. Mapp has
called a special meeting of the City Council for this Thursday, June 25, at 7:00 PM in City Hall Library.

The notice published by the City Clerk's office on Monday indicates two items of business --

Possible executive session to discuss personnel matters; and

Resolution authorizing the submission of a layoff plan to the state

The matter at hand would be the layoff plan for the Bilingual Day Care Center workers.

The Mapp administration is proposing to contract with HOPES,
Plainfield's Headstart provider, to transition the program to a new
non-city sponsor.

After two hours of public comment and much discussion by the Council this past week, the resolution for the HOPES contract was tabled.

However, since nearly half of Bilingual's enrollees are there as part of
the District's free pre-K program, the staffing matters need to be
resolved for the District to know what plans -- if any -- to make for the new school year in September.

If the Council shows up and there is a meeting, and if the Council
adopts a layoff plan resolution on Thursday, the original timeline will
only be disrupted by a week or so.

If the Council snubs the Mayor's call for a special meeting (as it did last month), then all bets are off.

Monday, June 22, 2015

I subscribe to the online version of the Courier News for its Plainfield news
stories. The cost is $12.00 per month, which I figure means I am paying
between $4.00 and $6.00 on average for a Plainfield news item.

This, of course, is all arranged by paying online with a credit card.

So several weeks ago, when the bank card I use for this payment was
replaced with a new one (because the old one was compromised in some
retail chain's hack), I immediately changed the accounts that I regularly used this card to pay for.

That would be Virgin Mobile (my cellphone serice), Amazon and -- tada!
-- mycentraljersey.com (otherwise known as the Courier News).

VM and Amazon went without a hitch.

Not so for the Courier. Gannett has to have the crappies, most rinky-dink credit card operation out there.

Where on Amazon, you clearly have a choice to change or add a card, on
the Courier's site, you have to hunt for where the creidt card info is supposed to go.

So, I finally find it and change the card to the new number.

We're flying blind by this point -- I get emails confirming the changes from the other two, but not MCJ.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

The Plainfield school district's three high schools --
Plainfield High, PAAAS, and Barack Obama Academy -- graduated hundreds
of seniors this week.

I was struck by the list of colleges those who continue their education will be attending (from a list posted by the District here) --

Cairn University

Caldwell University

Centenary Co llege

Drew University

Duke University

Fairleigh Dickinson University

Holy Family University

Howard University

John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Johnson & Wales University

Kean University

Lincoln University

Messiah College

Midland College

Montclair State University

NJIT

New Jersey City University

Rowan University

Rutgers University

College of St. Elizabeth

St. Peter's University

Syracuse University

Temple University

Trinitas School of Nursing

University of Tampa

Virginia State University

Wilkes University

A
number of graduates will be attending two-year colleges, including
Union County, Mercer County, Raritan Valley and Middlesex County, which
all offer seamless opportunities to move on to a four-year school after
getting an Associate's degree.

Whatever the problems with public schools, we have evidence here that
the Plainfield Public Schools are continuing to fulfill public
education's historic mission of bringing children to the threshold of
adulthood, active citizenship and preparation for a life's work.

I noticed on Thursday afternoon that Plainfield's old
Red Cross offices at West front and Grove Streets were being cleaned out preparatory to work beginning to turn the long-vacant building into renovated apartments and retail.

The office furniture looked forlorn sitting in the light rain, as workers filled the dumpster on Grove Street.

This is the latest project to join a constant stream of development projects both downtown and along South Avenue.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Plainfielders gathered in front of Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church
on Friday evening in a "VIgil of Solidarity" to share their grief and
sorrow over the shootings of nine church members at Emanuel AME Church
in Charleston, SC, on Wednesday evening.

Reflections and prayers were offered by many among the forty or so participants, who gathered for a group photo after the service.

Thanks are due to Rev. Lynn Santulli of Crescent Avenue Church and Rev.
Tracy Sprowls of the First Unitarian Society of Plainfield (FUSP) for
coordinating the vigil.

Where: In front of the Crescent Avenue
Presbyterian Church

716
Watchung Avenue

Plainfield, New Jersey

Organized by: Crescent Avenue
Presbyterian Church and the First Unitarian Church of Plainfield

We extend an invitation to the
citizens of the Plainfield community and concerned people as we gather tonight
for a vigil in solidarity to show our support and pay our condolences to those
murdered in Charleston. We stand in solidarity as we gather in the spirit of understanding,
healing and prayers for peace.

There's a while lot that needs to go into figuring outwho's who and what's what in the Bilingual Day Care story.

Though Plainfield's City Council and the public spent more than two hours discussing
the Bilingual Day Care Center at Tuesday's business meeting, the
impression was one of more heat than light, when all was said and done.

The future of the Bilingual Day Care Center (BDCC) is a gnarly issue,
tangled by groups with differing -- and sometimes conflicting --
agendas, a history of a forward-looking organization overtaken by
Plainfield's demographic shift, and the need of 21st century local
governments to focus on core services in order to keep tax bloat at bay.

There
were several efforts to mobilize residents to come out and discuss the
issue -- among them Bilingual Day Care staff and parents, Neighborhood
House supporters, supporters of HOPES (the city's Headstart provider),
and those responding to a Facebook post by resident -- and candidate for
City Council -- Norman Ortega (see here).

Resident -- and City Council candidate -- Norman Ortegafalsely accused the Mapp administration of planning toclose the Bilingual Day Care Center in this Facebook post.(Click to enlarge or print.)

Let's begin with Mr. Ortega, who is perhaps best known for abandoning
his post as a commissioner on the Plainfield Advisory Commission on
Hispanic Affairs (PACHA). His Facebook post calls people to attend to
"prevent the Mapp administration from closing the bilingual daycare" --
something which is simply untrue.

As can be seen from the agenda item, the discussion was about
"transitioning" Bilingual to a non-city entity. There is no proposal to
close Bilingual Day Care.

(This is not the first time Mr. Ortega has bent the facts to suit his
fantasies. Most recently, he accused the Mapp administration of
discriminating against Latinos in appointments to the Citizens Budget
Advisory Commission, ignoring the fact that the appointments were made
by individual councilors, with each naming one person to the CBAC. When a
Latina was named by a laggard councilor, he crowed it was a victory
over Mapp, but conveniently omitted to mention she is an employee of
Assemblyman Jerry Green and could be expected to give him a blow-by-blow
report on the committee's deliberations. And there is more, this is just a sample.)

BDCC AND A CHANGING PLAINFIELD

When BDCC was begun in 1977, with the late Paul O'Keeffe
as mayor and champion, Plainfield's Latino population was at about 10%.
There were no day care facilities offering a bilingual Spanish/English
environment. As Councilor Taylor rightly pointed out, BDCC was a
trailblazer.

That
was then, this is now. Plainfield is well over 40% Latino and heading
towards becoming a majority Latino community. Bilingual services to the toddlers and pre-schoolers are now the norm and not the exception.

Under
New Jersey's Abbott districts court orders, BDCC has benefited by
having about half its children included in that settlement, which,
however, has brought complicating management issues of its own.

BDCC
continues to make a solid contribution to daycare and early childhood
education in Plainfield, but it is no longer the solitary point of light
it once was.

DAYCARE IN PLAINFIELD

There are literally scores of daycare providers in Plainfield.

The Plainfield Public Schools lists twenty on its website (see here)
that qualify for free daycare under the Abbott District guidelines. The
list includes four sites for HOPES, and two for Neighborhood House.

For
a more exhaustive list of daycare providers -- most of whom are not
part of the Abbott Districts coverage -- see the website of Childcare
Centers.US here.

WHO'S WHO IN THE BDCC STORY

Families and Kids.
For many families, childcare is a constant worry, and the thought of
losing a space because of the closure of a program is a panicky thought.
All the more reason to be wary of someone like Norman Ortega, who plays
fast and loose with the truth in order to advance what appears to be a
personal agenda.

The
Bilingual Day Care Center is not in danger of being closed, and Ortega
should be ashamed for what he wrote. On the other hand, the parents of
children in the program could have been better informed about what is
afoot -- especially since it appears the BDCC staff shaded the news with
its own perspective on the matter. It is of primary importance that the
families who use the program get timely, accurate and relevant information about what is happening.

BDCC Staff.
The BDCC staff has a "dog in this fight", so to speak. Their jobs are
in play as the program transitions to new sponsorship. This can cause
great anxiety and lead to attempts to mobilize the families who use the
center as proxies for the staff in the transition discussion.

This
could be seen in the way the options for the existing staff were
mischaracterized in the public discussion at the Council meeting and in
the way that staff disguised their concerns over their own fate and
concerns "for the children".

The children will do just fine under a new sponsor. So what else can we be talking about?

Part
of the difficulty for staff arises from the hybrid sources of funding
and administration. About half BDCC's children are covered by the Abbott
Districts settlement which covers everything from required
certifications of employees, activities to be provided, salary and wage
guidelines and more.

The
staff for the half of children not covered by the Abbott Districts
ruling do not have the same certification requirements. The wages of the
uncertified employees do not square up with those in the daycare field generally (they are much more generous), providing an incentive to balk at any proposed changes in the situation.

What would be more helpful would be for the BDCC employees to acknowledge their conflicts here and be more straightforward in the discussions.

It
is just possible that the way they have gone about it has soured the
Mapp administration on making any effort at smoothing the way for
staffers.

Daycare Providers.
The Mapp administration is proposing to transition the BDCC by hiring
HOPES to manage the process, projected to take up to two school years.

At
last week's agenda-setting session, Neighborhood House executive
director Carol Presley sharply criticized the plan, saying it was unfair
to give the contract to an "outsider" organization.

That
language was used when ho HOPES representative was in the room. Presley
changed her tune considerably this past week, with a HOPES vice
president in attendance. Now, Presley says, she is only concerned that
there be an RFP process and that any interested and qualified
organization can make a pitch for the contract.

Councilor
Taylor had high praise for HOPES -- perhaps because she knows of them
from another context (she did not say) -- but attempted to waffle by
throwing a few rose in the direction of Neighborhood House also (saying "they have been around forever").

One
thing can be said with certainty if the city decides to issue an RFP:
the price will go up, perhaps astronomically. And that is because each
organization's response to the RFP will attempt to cover every possible
contingency -- all with an associated cost -- thereby inflating the
final price and leaving the City (and the Council too, as they have to
ratify any deal) to choose between several overpriced alternatives.

Taxpayers.
Lost in the shuffle are Plainfield's poor, longsuffering taxpayers, who
are currently shelling out in excess of $140,000 to cover BDCC overhead
in excess of grants and reimbursements.

The Mapp administration is trying to look out for all the parties involved, but -- most challengingly -- to keep the taxpayers from getting the short end of the stick.

WHAT IS FAIR?

BDCC
employees made a pitch for what they see as "fair" in their remarks
before the Council. As they see it, the BDCC employees should decide on
the entity to manage the transition.

What is "fair" depends on your viewpoint.

But we also have to ask: Whose responsibility is it, by law, to make the decisions here?

Truth
of the matter: It is the Mapp administration's responsibility to come
up with a workable plan of transition -- no one, including employees or
parents, is denying their needs to be one -- to which the Council will
assent.

The
Council, in its wisdom, tabled the resolution last Tuesday. This will
give the Mapp administration an opportunity to try to build a consensus
on going forward,

But,
as Administration & Finance Director Ron West pointed out, the
delay will have a ripple effect, leaving the Plainfield School District
scrambling with what to do before September, and with implementation of
the transition plan shove back to October or November.

Meanwhile, the taxpayers have yet to weigh in. Perhaps the Council should assume they don't care?

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Plainfield Today reader Cynthia Alexander sends along
some snaps of four turkeys, including a Tom, who decided they liked
hanging out on her kitchen porch. This is in response to yesterday's post on a turkey sighting in Library Park (see here).

She says that though she never fed them, they often gathered on the
fence. She also said the Tom was aggressive and liked to chase people
who passed her Prospect Avenue home.

Sadly, she says, Tom met his end when he chased a jogger and was hit and killed by a car on Kensington Avenue.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Coming back from the pharmacy shortly after noon
Wednesday, I was surprised to see a wild turkey hen near the Plainfield Public Library.

She had crossed Arlington Avenue at West 9th Street and strolled
nonchalantly into the park toward the fountain, stopping to peck at the
grass occasionally. She seemed undeterred by either passing traffic or
people walking and sitting in the park.

Though I have seen turkeys many times above Woodland Avenue and along
Rahway Road, this is the first I can recall seeing any this far into
town. For more about wild turkeys, see here.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Looks like a tussle developing over who will take overfor Bilingual Day Care.

Though getting Plainfield ouf ot the daycare business has been discussed by several administrations over many years, the Mapp administration is the first to come within sight of the finish line.

Plainfield City Council will take up several resolutions at tonight's
business meeting that deal with winding down the Bilingual Day Care
center on West 2nd Street and transferring the operations to another
entity.

The most important are R214-15, which would transition the program to
HOPES, which is the agency that manages the city's Headstart programs,
and R220-15, the submission of a layoff plan for the current Bilingual
Day Care staff. The plan would need to be approved by the state and
would go into effect 45 days after approval is granted.

Neighborhood House's executive director, Carol Presley, addressed the
Council at last week's agenda-setting session. Her main points were that
the city should not transfer the program to "outsiders" (HOPES is
headquartered in Hoboken), and Neighborhood House would have new
classrooms "in October".

Word in the street is that Presley is mobilizing a crowd to attend tonight's meeting to press for her proposal.

Presley is claiming that Neighorhood House will have four new classrooms
in the apartment complex being built behind the old Senior Center on
East Front Street and that the building will be "ready for occupancy in October".

I doubt it. Driving by the site, one can see that only the slab for the
main floor has been poured. Based on other recent projects of similar
size in Plainfield -- especially the Monarch condos, which is quite similar -- it is not likely the building will be ready that soon.

And the credibility of Presley's position rests on being able to put the cildren from Bilingual Day Care into classrooms that Neighborhood House does not currently have.

Plainfield resident since 1983. Retired as the city's Public Information Officer in 2006; prior to that Community Programs Coordinator for the Plainfield Public Library. Founding member and past president of: Faith, Bricks & Mortar; Residents Supporting Victorian Plainfield; and PCO (the outreach nonprofit of Grace Episcopal Church). Supporter of the Library, Symphony and Historic Society as well as other community groups, and active in Democratic politics.